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Leprechaun economics? Ireland is globally renowned for its great works of fiction – from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. And last week’s GDP figures were viewed in this light when an unbelievable 26.3% y/y expansion for 2015 was revealed! The UK and Eurozone growth rates of 2.2% and 1.7% were Lilliputian in comparison. So what’s going on? The key story is that multinationals are distorting the figures through tax inversions and corporate relocations. In particular, the airline leasing industry moved its assets (planes) onto the Irish balance sheet for tax reasons. Nobel Prize-winning economist, Paul Krugman dubbed the figures ”Leprechaun economics” due to their fantastical nature. So what is the reality? Consumer spending rose by 4.5% last year and accelerated to 5% y/y for Q1 2016. Not quite 26%, but still very impressive in the real world.

So why are so many Irish Dentists engaged in a race to the bottom by undercutting their competitors’ prices – especially in implantology? Instead of hanging around in the shallows with a net this summer why not swim into deeper waters where there are plenty of fish. The sea of high quality dentistry isn’t overfished by any means. There is plenty to be caught for those with the right skills, the right tools and patience. Price wars benefit no-one in the long term.